Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper
by Dimensional Roamer
Summary: Pissed at Sasuke since he left without a second glance, Sakura needed to vent some steam. Fate gave her the perfect opportunity, and somehow Itachi ends up being the unfortunate recipient. Being bored, Itachi is intrigued and so their correspondence via letters starts. Main Pairing: Itachi /Sakura
1. Chapter 1  Introducing

**Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper**

**Chapter 1 – Introducing…**

**Warnings:** Random crack. Some language. Does not follow canon exactly.

**Disclaimer:** I own no forms of Manga/Anime; therefore Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**A/N: **Hey everyone. This idea came from the various Harry Potter stories I've read where Harry writes letters to the Dark Lord, and then a plot starts. I've decided that that could work with Itachi and Sakura, so please stick with me and give me some encouragement and advice.

**FYI:  
><strong>Sakura and all rookie 9 - 12 years old

Team Gai - 13 years old

Itachi - 17 yeras old

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura was pissed. No, scratch that, she was infuriated. How dare that bastard, that little, that, that, argh! She couldn't even find the words to describe Sasuke. Stupid bastard, how dare he knock her out and leave her lying on a cold stone bench with just a thank you! And after all the good deeds she had done for him too.<p>

Sure, she may have been a little, what's the word, _persistent_, but that was only because it was the popular and normal thing to do… Everyone had a crush on Sasuke! There were even some fanboys, come to think of it.

It wasn't like she had a massive crush on him. Oh no. She just wanted to fit in. Ino and all the other girls crushed on Sasuke, and to be honest, he wasn't bad looking, so why not? It was easier to go with the flow than against it.

Truthfully though, she had found his antisocial, 'I-am-greater-than-thou-so-bow-before-me-now' attitude to be quite annoying at times.

Just when she had finally started to like Sasuke as a person, a friend, because he was plain Sasuke and none of that last Uchiha crap, he left. She had confessed to him, desperately hoping that a promise of love to the boy who had lost his whole family would be enough to convince him to stay. How did he react to her act of kindness? Leave her freezing and stiff on a freak'in stone bench without even a blanket.

Sighing, Sakura sat up and rolled her cramped shoulders.

"Sakura-san! Please answer!"

Startled out of her ministrations, she looked up and noticed that Kotetsu and Izumo were there, and looked like they were waiting for her to answer.

"Ah, sorry. I'm fine," Sakura tried hard to give a reassuring smile, but it unsuccessfully came out as a grimace. "Sasuke, unfortunately, is not. He defected."

Kotetsu and Izumo's faces rapidly changed in pallor. Seeing their pale expressions, Sakura groaned in her head_. _Damn, it's going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>' <em>A loud sound reverberated around the room. "Sasuke did what!" Tsunade screamed as she slammed her hands down on her desk, giving the poor furniture a small crack.'<em>

' "_Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll bring Teme back - it's a promise of a lifetime!" Naruto smiled at her with that 1000 watt grin of his.'_

' "_Sakura, are you ok? Maybe you should get check out at the hospital to make sure Sasuke didn't do anything damaging." Hatake Kakashi worriedly peered at her over the Icha Icha novel he was holding. _

_Sakura idly noted that this was one of the few times her wayward sensei had shown concern for her.'_

The morning had definitely been eventful. Sakura let out a huff as she walked down the path leading away from the hospital. Inside, she continued to fume.

"**Cha! How dare he leave us like that! Sasuke is so rude! I don't know what I ever saw in him.**" Inner Sakura yelled while pumping her fists up and down.

"You know, Inner, I would tell you to calm down, but I don't feel like it. Keep ranting." Sakura thought.

"**Ne, Saku, are you ok? You've never acted like this before… just cheer up ok? He isn't worth our anger.**" Inner consoled.

"I know, it's just that, that," Sakura couldn't get any further before tears started welling up in her eyes. Angrily, she swiped at them and tried to continue, but couldn't get any words out.

"**Saku, it's ok. Let's go to central park and we can talk about it.**" Inner worriedly suggested.

"Okay."

Changing directions and heading towards a well maintained park situated in the middle of Konoha, Sakura tried her best to not meet the stares of the various people around it. It wasn't exactly a secret that Sasuke was on her team.

"So Inner, why did you want to come here?" Sakura asked as she slowly started calming down somewhat, after she sat down on a park bench.

"**Saku, remember, this was where we first met Sasuke … and his brother. I thought that it would be nice to sit here while we talked.**" Inner responded.

Sakura sighed and leaned back, draping her arms over the backrest of the bench. Closing her eyes, she revisited that day in her mind.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_7-year-old Sakura sat alone under a tree in the park, crying. It was late afternoon and all the other kids had been teasing her, saying that her pink hair was ugly and that her forehead was too big. She quietly sniffled as she thought to herself, "It's not my fault! They shouldn't do this to me". _

_Filled with another bought of self-pity, she was about to burst into tears again when she felt a presence behind her. Spinning around as fast as a 7-year-old could, she came face to face with a boy. He didn't look that old, however, his face immediately stood out; she noticed right away how sad and tired his coal black eyes looked, and that there were already stress lines on his face._

_"Hello, my name is Itachi. Are you okay?" The boy inquired._

_Self-conscious about being caught crying, Sakura turned away and asked in a small voice, "Are you going to tease me too?"_

_The boy, Itachi, appeared slightly surprised and replied, "No. I just came to see what was wrong. I have a younger brother and he's your age, so I'm used to dealing with problems. See? That's him on the playground over there." Gesturing to the area where Sasuke was, Itachi continued, "His name is Sasuke. Since I'm his older brother, I care for him, even if he doesn't ask for it."_

_Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to reply, Itachi joined her underneath the tree, letting her know that someone was there with her._

_When Sakura eventually stopped crying, they sat there side by side until the Itachi decided that he should get Sasuke home and then head off to ANBU duty. As he got up to leave, Sakura grabbed his arm, and shyly said, "Thank you Itachi-san. My name is Sakura." _

_She gave him the brightest smile she could, and in return, received an unreadable look. Itachi had nodded to her and then walked away._

_Flashback end_

* * *

><p>After that, Sakura had seen Itachi around a few more times before he disappeared. Later, everyone learned that he had massacred the entire Uchiha Clan and became a missing nin. Sakura couldn't understand it though, he had seemed so nice.<p>

"… You have me feeling all old and nostalgic. So what now Inner?" Sakura asked exasperatedly, though in a better mood.

"**Well, I see your feeling better. That's good. You've spent a long time in lala land you know, you should probably go home now." **Inner cheerfully responded.

Sakura opened her eyes and noticed that quite some time had indeed passed and that it was already mid-afternoon. Sighing at the way her day had passed, she slowly started to trudge home.

* * *

><p>"Tadaima!" Sakura called as she unlocked the door to her house.<p>

Her mother immediately poked her head around the corner of the hallway leading to the kitchen, and exclaimed extremely quickly, "Oh! Sakura-chan! You're back! I heard what happened with Sasuke. I'm so sorry dear, but look! I have a present for you! I saw it in the market today and it's one of a kind ninja tool! This absolutely suspicious old man was selling these random trinkets, and I saw this, and thought that you should have it! Here, enjoy!"

With that, she stuffed a present brightly wrapped with pink tissue paper into Sakura's arms. Shooing her up the stairs, Sakura's mom called out, "I know you love it! Now go pester Sasuke-kun with it!" and disappeared back to the kitchen, leaving Sakura to wonder how her mom had managed to say all that in one breath.

Sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that day; Sakura resigned herself to her fate and went to her bedroom.

Tearing open the wrapping paper, Sakura felt something hard fall onto her lap. Picking it up, she saw that it was an old looking scroll, with the paper slightly yellowed, yet still in good condition and had a somewhat regal look to it.

"What the … ?" Opening the scroll and peering in, Sakura started to read. As she did, a maniac grin slowly started to spread across her face.

By the time she had finished, she was cackling evilly and rolling around on the ground of her room. Finally catching her breath, Sakura sat up and with an odd lighting that just happened to be in her room, her bangs overshadowed her eyes, and she whispered, " Prepare to be doomed Itachi. I am pissed at your brother, and since he's a jerk and writing to him would be useless, you are going to be the one to deal with it."

* * *

><p>Inside the scroll:<p>

_Greeting, finder of the rare, one-of-a-kind, one and only Taiō Scroll! This scroll has been made by someone whose name is unimportant, and its original purpose is also unimportant, but what matters is that you now have access to it!_

_The Taiō Scroll is a one-way communication of sorts. As long as you write the name of the person you are trying to communicate with first, you can write them a letter of whatever, and no matter where the person is, the Taiō Scroll shall find them and deliver the message! However, once you pick a person, then the scroll can only deliver to that one person, so choose wisely!_

_Once you finish with the letter, simply send your chakra into the scroll and the scroll shall disappear to where the receiver is. This scroll in non-trackable, however, and has defense mechanisms to prevent any tracking devices._

_After being sent off with chakra, the scroll will appear next to the receiver, and shall haunt them and follow them wherever they go - spooky music may also be played, see options- until the scroll is opened. At that, a copy of the letter shall be made and left with the person and the Taiō Scroll will return to you, blank, ready to be used again!_

_This scroll is also immune to elemental jutsus of all sorts, and therefore, your letter shall receive the utmost protection._

_Any questions? No? Ok! Good, now pick a person and start writing!_

_Note: Please use the scroll with discretion, and be careful, especially if writing to missing nins, criminals, bandits, or ronin. The scroll should **not** be given to people ages 18 and under because of responsibility issues._

_Also, please note that this scroll is non-refundable and that the distributor of this scroll shall not be held responsible for any event that the scroll may lead too. You may also find that the distributor of the scroll will disappear never to be found again after purchase. This is normal, so please do not go looking for the distributor._

* * *

><p>And with that, the correspondence between Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi via letters, began.<p>

* * *

><p><em>to be continued<em>

* * *

><p>written: 1221/2011

edited: 8/14/2012

Pure Crack, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH :D

Feel the INSANITY! It's 1 am in the morning, my mindset has probably seen better days when it was more stable. But whatever. I just feel like cackling right now, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Sorry, don't let my insanity scare you away, Review please!

Next chapter should be up soon.

~ DR


	2. Chapter 2 First Letter

**Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper**

**Chapter 2 – First letter**

**Warnings:** Randomness. Some language. Made-up names for Sakura and Ino's moms. Does not follow canon exactly.

**Disclaimer:** I own no forms of Manga/Anime; therefore Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**A/N: **Greetings everyone! Wow, I am impressed by the number of visitors to chapter 1. You have no idea how happy it makes me feel. Right now, this story is still based on random ideas, but I will make it follow a serious plot with interaction and fluffiness between Itachi and Sakura later on.

Also, I just wanted to say, how cool is the Kyuubi's name? KURAMA! :D

Anyways, thanks to the people who faved and alerted, and thanks to my wonderful reviewers: anonymous reviewer **AnotherLazyAuthor**, **ArdentheVampire**, **uchihaitachi21**, **winged-angel21**, **NorthernLights1239**, and **Analelle**.

In addition, just let me say, I now have a newfound appreciation to authors on here … Writing stories are so hard. I was going to update on Christmas, but it turned out so horrible that I just couldn't. And I'm still not all that satisfied :/

Now, on to chapter 2.

* * *

><p>It was a nice morning; the birds were chirping cheerily, the squirrels were energetically jumping from tree to tree, the sun was shining brightly, and everything was as peaceful as 7 o'clock AM could be.<p>

However, what the outside world did not know, was that things were definitely not all calm and serene inside Sakura's house, or at least, in Sakura's room. In there, things were chaotic.

"Muahahahahahahahaha!" Sakura laughed madly as an ominous thunderstorm miraculously appeared over her house, sufficiently ruining the peaceful setting and scaring the heck out of all the wildlife. She pushed away from her desk, and stood up.

"It's finished!" She exclaimed in delight. "Shannaro! Uchiha Itachi, let's see how you like my letter."

**"Um, Saku? I think you should calm down."** Inner Sakura watched from the mindscape with a sweatdrop that was growing significantly larger by the second. **"I think you should take a break, you know? This doesn't look healthy… I mean, usually, I'm the one that's like that… Sakura?"** Inner trailed off, trying to see if Sakura was paying her any attention.

Unfortunately for Inner, Sakura showed no signs of listening; she gleefully caressed the scroll with an almost _worshiping_ look, and a slightly deranged grin on her face. Inner sighed. She knew why Sakura was like this: Sakura had stayed up all night. Anyone, even the sanest person, would be slightly crazy if they were sleep derived in addition having an emotional backlash.

"Ahahahahahaha!" Sakura laughed maniacally again. This time, she held the scroll high above her head. She though about her plan - All her pain, suffering, and wrath were inside this little letter, just waiting to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting elder Uchiha. He wouldn't know what had hit him!

She knew she had dark rings surrounding her bloodshot eyes, that her clothes were rumpled, and that she had hair representing a bird's nest, sticking up all over the place. However, for once, Sakura just could not bring herself to care… she had just finished the first letter! Life was very good.

"Now, to send the scroll off, just a little bit of chakra, come on," Sakura muttered to herself.

**"Saku… you're creeping me out."**

However, the scroll didn't leave.

"Huh? Was this supposed to happen?" Sakura pondered, and then decided heck with it all and pushed all the remaining chakra she had left into the scroll.

"Leave, leave, leave! Damn it, Leave!"

Had Sakura been more aware of her wellbeing, she would have noticed that her chakra levels were dangerously low. Being in the loopy state she was in though, she didn't notice at all and it came as a great surprise when she suddenly felt very weak.

"Noooooo! So close!" Sakura cried, as her eyes rolled back and she slumped down unconscious against the floor, dropping the precious scroll next to her.

Inner Sakura watched all this with another sweatdrop. Letting out a huff and smacking her palm against her forehead, and she grumbled, **"You had it coming, Saku. I knew staying awake for over 24 hours in addition to the stress of having someone close leave, being angry all day, and then working all night is not very healthy. Why couldn't you listen to me and go to sleep?"**

_**XxXxXxXx**_

The first thing Sakura had done after choosing her victim was to read through the 67 paged instructions manual sealed underneath the introduction. The manual was double sided, and packed with information. Reading through it all had taken her the better half of the night, but Sakura was not proclaimed the smartest kunoichi of her age group for nothing; her bookworm tendencies showed and she persevered, finishing the arduous task.

The instructions manual had taught her many useful things such as how to activate the scary music option, how to seal things into the scroll for the receiver to receive, how to make it so that only she could write in the scroll, etc. There was also a part in the manual which was blocked off with a condition, stating that only after the _Taiō Scroll has deemed both parties worthy due to the amount of letters passed in between _will the words be revealed.

Sakura didn't worry about that though; the scroll was like a gift from Kami! She couldn't go around Konoha sprouting complaints and threats of bodily harm to the village's _precious last Uchiha_, because who knows what the council would do to her? Besides, she was also supposed to be a brainless fangirl who would never dream of hurting the almighty prince Sasuke-kun. With this scroll, however, she now had someone to rant to.

Then, despite Inner's fervent pleas, Sakura had started on the letter, not getting a drop of sleep.

After all her hard work, it really was too bad that the epic moment of the send off was delayed.

* * *

><p>2 hours later, around 9 o'clock, Sakura's mother peered in through the door and was greeted by a curious sight. Her beloved daughter was sprawled across the wooden floor in what would seem to be an extremely uncomfortable position, while sporadically twitching, and forming a small puddle of drool beneath her mouth. The room looked like a tornado had passed by, but for some reason, the bed was neat and tidy. Mrs. Haruno had never seen her daughter, or her daughter's room, in such a state. Fortunately, the unspoken question of what had happened was answered by the scroll she saw lying next to Sakura.<p>

"Oh! Is this the scroll with the letter! It is! Let me see!" Sakura's mother excitedly exclaimed, reaching out for the scroll.

"Wha?" Sakura sleepily mumbled, though her eyes widened and her sleepy visage vanished as her mother's fingers drew near. "No! Okaa-san! Don't! I put a-" However, it was too late. The elder Haruno touched the scroll.

"Aww, Sakura-chan, are you embarrassed about your letter? It's a love letter to Sasuke-kun right! It's fi-" Mrs. Haruno got no further as she was suddenly shocked by jolt of lightning, and fell into an unconscious heap on the floor.

"-defensive mechanism on it, only allowing _him_ and I to touch it… you would be shocked." Sakura finished weakly as she sheepishly looked at her mother's still body.

"Oops… that wasn't supposed to happen…" Sakura embarrassedly muttered as she scratched the back of her neck.

**"Of course not, Sherlock! What were you thinking, adding that function! You could have killed mom! She's only a civilian!"** Inner furiously ranted. **"Don't you think you went a little overboard?"**

"Uh, I'm really sorry! Okaa-san! Please don't die! If you wake up, I'll never stalk people again! And I'll always eat my vegetable! And I won't think that you knitting is lame anymore! Just wake up!" Sakura bawled out hysterically. Then, her personality did a one-eighty. She addressed Inner and stated seriously, "And no, Inner. I do not think I went overboard. What if someone intercepts the scroll? I could be arrested. Would you want that? Huh?"

Inner wanted to facepalm again.** "Argh, whatever. I give up. Fine. Just make sure you tell mom about all the other traps you've set on the scroll once she wakes up. And don't worry. The lightning shouldn't have killed her. Just do something unstressful until she wakes up."** Inner advised.

Having nothing better to do, Sakura picked up the heavy instructions manual, lugged it over to where her mom was, sat down, and started reading. Thankfully, her mother woke up within a few minutes without any side effects.

_**XxXxXxXx**_

"Urgh, what happened? Why am I on the floor?"

"Gomenasai Okaa-san! I didn't mean for it to happen! I, um, I put a safety device on it only allowing _him_ and I to touch the scroll without getting hurt, because who know what might happen if other people got their hands on it, right? Hehehehe." Sakura laughed nervously at the end. "Are you ok okaa-san? I am so sorry. You're not hurt badly anywhere, are you?

"Oh, Sakura-chan, it's ok. I'm fine. Don't beat yourself up about it." Her mother immediately consoled seeing how distressed her daughter was.

However, all of a sudden, Mrs. Haruno's face morphed into the 'cat's-got-the-canary' smirk, and she slyly whispered in a suggestive tone, "Wow, Sakura-chan. That was some pretty high-tech defense there… That must be a pretty important love letter for Sasuke-kun, eh?"

Blushing madly at the implications and wondering just how her mother had gotten to _there_, Sakura hotly denied, "What! No! Why would I do that! And the letter's not for him either!"

**"Cha! He's such a jerk, and it's not like I like him anymore!"** Inner added.

"Oh? Then who is it for, if not Sasuke-kun?"

"Um, I'm writing to Uchiha-"

"Aha! I knew that it was Sasuke-kun! You just admitted it! Like I was saying before I fainted, Sakura-chan, it is fine. I know that you're at the stage where boys are all that's on your mind, and I understand. Now go send that letter off to that handsome Uchiha boy! And don't worry! I won't touch the scroll again." With that, Sakura mom cheerfully skittered off back to whatever it was she was doing before coming into Sakura's room.

Sakura wanted to faceplant. "Kuso, now mom thinks I'm some boy-crazy lunatic. What should we do, Inner?"

**"Hmm, well, if you ask me, then I think that we should do nothing. It's probably best that she doesn't know who we're actually writing to."**

"Yeah, you're right. She might freak out and tell someone, and then I would be arrested for 'endangering the village by communicating to dangerous s-rank missing nins'." Sakura concluded.

"Ok, now to finally send this thing off onto its journey. Chakra, focus, ok, ready, and, -"

"Sakura-chan! I forgot to tell you, but we are visiting Ino-chan's family today! We're leaving right now! Hurry up!" Sakura's mother called up the stairs just as the scroll was about to be sent off.

"Damn it! Foiled again!" Sakura cursed.

Inner sweatdropped, and then noticed that she seemed to be doing that a lot that morning. **"… You sound like an evil villain, Saku."**

"Shut it Inner." Sakura moodily grouched.

* * *

><p>Sakura ran up to the Yamanaka flower shop and slid opened the door. She went in, her mother right behind her.<p>

"Hello! How may I help you?" Ino's mom called out, before realizing that it was Sakura and her mother.

"Oh! Sakura-chan! Sayuri! I've been expecting you two, come on up! Sakura-chan, Ino's at the house. We're going to go there." Ino's mother exclaimed as she got ready to lead her guests back to the Yamanaka compound.

"Nice to see you as well, Yukimi." Sayuri, Sakura's mother, answered bemusedly.

"Sorry, I'll be ready in a sec." Yukimi smiled.

"Inoichi!" She called into the backroom of the shop. "Come manage the shop for a bit! I have guests and I'm going home!"

They all heard a grumbling sound reply the call.

"Excuse me, it seems that he needs a bit of a persuasion." Yukimi mumbled. "Stay here, I'll be right out." Then, she left the mother-daughter pair alone.

"Okaa-san," Sakura turned towards her mother. "When we get to Ino's house, can you not talk about the scroll and me writing letters please?"

_After all_, she thought, _The less people who know about me writing to Itachi the better. Thankfully, only mom knows, and she has the person wrong._

"Of course dear. I've forgotten that you and Ino-chan have that petty rivalry over Sasuke-kun.

**"Shannaro! I want to correct her so bad! Saku! Just tell her!"** Inner whined. **"It gets me so mad when she assumes we still pine over that idiot."**

Sakura let out tired breath, and wearily thought to Inner, "You know we can't. Suck it up. I hate it too."

Outwardly though, Sakura said nothing and quietly walked behind her and Ino's mothers as they left the store.

As they neared the house, Yukimi suddenly remembered something and faced Sakura. "Oh, that's right, Sakura-chan, can you do me a favour please?"

"Sure, what is it Mrs. Yamanaka?"

"It seems Ino has taken Sasuke leaving quite hard. Could you try to cheer her up please? She would much rather confide in you than her boring mother, that's for sure."

"Ok. I'll try."

_**XxXxXxXx**_

"Ino, you in there? Ino, I'm coming in." Sakura knocked once, and then entered Ino's room. Inside was dark, and as Sakura reached up to turn on the light, a voice from the direction of the bed interrupted her.

"Don't turn it on. I don't want you to see me."

"Ino! Are you ok?" Sakura asked worriedly as she tried her best to navigate in the dark. Eventually, she bumped into the bed and reaching out with her hands, started feeling around for Ino.

"Watch where you're feeling forehead girl, unless you want to grope me by accident. I'm not actually in bed; just lying on top." Ino remarked with a tint of amusement, though anyone could tell that the tone was sad.

Sakura let the comment slide. By that time, her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could vaguely make out the shape that was Ino. She sat down on the bed beside Ino's head. "Well, looks like you are feeling better if you're already at the insults."

Ino didn't respond, and turned away.

"Look Ino, I know you're sad that Sasuke's gone, but you should get over it. You're letting him win, by being like this and showing how much it's affecting you."

Ino snorted. "Who died and made you Ms. Therapist?"

Without missing a beat, Sakura retorted. "The inner fangirl."

That gave Ino a surprise.

"What, you mean your infatuation with Sasuke died that quickly? There's no way."

"It did happen!" Sakura insisted. "Actually, I've never really had a crush on Sasuke. I only went along with everyone because it was the popular thing to do."

Ino gave Sakura a disbelieving stare, and then turned away again. "To be honest, that sounded like a pile of crap.

"It did not!" Sakura vehemently denied. Inside, she was beginning to feel annoyed at Ino. "I really am over him!"

**"Shannaro!"** Inner supplied. **"How dare she act like she knows us better than we do? We are SO over that jerk."**

Ino just stared at her again. "It's BS and you know it, Sakura. Feelings do not go away that quickly, and the way you acted towards Sasuke could not be faked. There was honest devotion there. Even if what you said was true, being his teammate and interacting with him 24/7 must have left an impression on you. Can you seriously tell me that you didn't feel anything special for him?"

"Of course," Sakura stated immediately. "I felt nothing special for Uchiha Sasuke."

Ino gave her another dry look. "You sounded more like you were trying to convince yourself, Sakura. Look into my eyes and say it."

"I, I …" Sakura found that she couldn't.

"You would be heartless if you didn't feel anything for him. Look at Naruto. At first, you were always so annoyed at him, but can you really tell me that you're not even a little bit fond of him now?"

Suitably chastised, Sakura stared down at her hand.

"Now that we've established that you clearly still like Sasuke-kun, leave me alone to sulk in peace." Ino continued, lying back down.

After a few moments of silence, Sakura spoke up again, though this time not in the confident tone she had used before.

"You know," She started out slowly. "I've always felt inferior to you."

Ino didn't react, but Sakura knew she was listening.

"You were the cool and confident person who rescued me. You were the first person to befriend me, and I really appreciated it. Back then, I felt that you were amazing, that you could do everything." Sakura continued at a steady pace.

"Then, I, I grew jealous. I was jealous at how you were so incredible, and how nothing could stand in your way once you made up your mind. I really really wanted to beat you at something."

At this, Ino looked up. "So when you found out I liked Sasuke-kun," She ventured.

"When I found out about that, I decided that I would crush on him as well. Then, maybe, I would beat you at something, like scoring Sasuke's affection. It went out of hand, and our friendship collapsed. The day we stopped being friends, I went home and cried a lot. You were really important to me." Sakura turned away from Ino. She couldn't bear to keep looking at her.

"Finally, I began liking him as a teammate, a person. I don't know, maybe a crush was beginning to form too; it was too early to tell. I grew fond of him, just like with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. He became an important person in my life, and that's why it hurt so much when he left."

Bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them, Sakura went on.

"I had my happy future all planned out too; Naruto, the over-energetic brother who makes everyone happy, Kaka-sensei, the perverted elder brother who cared about us all, Sasuke, the cool and suave person who attracted girls like bees to honey, and hated it; they were all going to be my boys." Sakura's voice wavered a bit at the end.

There were a few more moments of silence, but this time, it was Ino who broke it.

"I was so upset when I learned that he had defected." Ino opened up. Tears were starting to form at the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't believe it, and Shikamaru and Chouji had to stop me from going on a rampage."

"I really liked him too. Like 'really really liked'." Ino choked out as the tears started flowing faster. "I can't believe he just left Konoha like this. It's his home!"

"I know." Sakura could feel her own tears starting to gather as well. She drew Ino into a hug, and Ino returned it.

The remainder of the visit was spent in bittersweet recollections of anecdotes and happy times they had spent together as children. They basked in each other's presence, soaking up the encouragement and comradeship they needed from each other. When Sakura's mother called Sakura to go, both girls were feeling infinitely better than before.

"Sakura-chan! Hurry up, we're leaving. Let's pick up some take-out on the way home too, ok?"

"Coming, Okaa-san!" Sakura called, and then turned back to Ino.

"So things are all cool between us, right?"

"Damn right they are." Ino sniffed, and then gave a weak smile. "It's good to have you back, forehead girl."

Sakura couldn't help but notice that there was no malice in the nickname.

"It's good to be back." Sakura admitted with a content sigh, and then couldn't resist adding a jab. "Ino-pig."

* * *

><p><strong>"Yatta! We're home! Now hurry up Saku! I wanna send that scroll off!"<strong> Inner cheerily crowed.

"Whoa, chill, Inner" Sakura reprimanded. "I want to too, but we can't act that excited… Mom's gonna get suspicious."

Then, turning to her mom who was just locking the door, Sakura said, "Okaa-san, I'm going to my room ok? You know, changing my clothes, freshening up, etc."

"And sending off that scroll to Sasuke-kun? Of course honey. Just be ready for dinner soon. The take-out won't take long to heat up." Mrs. Haruno replied mischievously, her eyes twinkling like mad.

"Kuso!" Sakura complained under her breath as she entered her bedroom. "That's exactly why I didn't want mom to know! She's just going to tease me about Sasuke later, when I don't even like him that way!"

**"Hmph."** Inner snickered, feeling too amused to be sorry for her other half.

Growling, Sakura sharply uttered, "Can it Inner! It's not funny. Now where is that scroll?"

**"It's still on the floor, where you dropped it this morning."** Inner helpfully supplied, though she was still giggling.

"Thank you soo much," Sakura sarcastically answered.

**"Don't forget to set the password!"** Inner sang while twirling around in the mindscape.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura replied, clearly distracted. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. "So that's what I forgot this morning!"

The instructions manual had specifically mentioned that as a precaution, a password should be set, and said while chakra was being channeled. Then, in the future, the scroll would not leave without the password.

Holding the scroll in her left hand, Sakura placed her chakra ladened right hand on top, softly said the password, and inject the mixture of spiritual and physical energy into the scroll.

It glowed bright blue, before vanishing without a single sound.

**"Whooo! And it's off!"** Inner laughed, making large dramatic movements with her arms.

"Finally!" Sakura laughed with actual happiness, the first time since Sasuke had defected. "Now we just have to hope that Itachi will respond, and not decide that it's too annoying."

**"Or worse, he may somehow kill the scroll without even finding out what's in it."** Inner added.

"It's ok." Sakura intoned confidently, "I'm sure Itachi will at least read it. He seemed nice when we first met, and he just doesn't seem like what he's painted out to be. Ninjas are supposed to be deceptive right? Maybe he's really a good guy?"

**"Haha, maybe, but you do know that what we're doing could be considered treasonous if ever found right? He might be good, but for all we know, he is still a mass murderer. We're just lucky that we're only an insignificant genin… he probably won't hunt us down to kill if he doesn't like the letter."**

"… you don't have to sound so cheerful and carefree when you say it."

**"Whatever."**

"Sakura-chan!" A voice came floating up the stairs. "Dinner time!"

"Coming Okaa-san!"

* * *

><p>Over a thousand miles away, two beings clad in black cloaks with red clouds paused in their walk when they felt a strange energy gather out of nowhere<p>

An old looking scroll popped into existence, and immediately floated over to where the shorter figure was standing. Said person regarded it curiously with blazing red eyes.

Bobbing up and down in the air, the scroll noticed that the receiver wasn't responding, so it started wiggling and going in circles around its target.

"Wow Itachi, looks like you have another admirer, this time a scroll. Those Uchiha genetics must really be something, eh? Giving you looks that make so many things swoon, though this is the first time I've seen an inert object react to you." The taller figure commented amusedly in a masculine voice, raising the straw hat he was wearing in order to get a better look at the mysterious flying item.

"Kisame." The now identified Itachi stated flatly, with just a hint of a warning.

"Whoa, whoa, just saying. No need to get mad about it." Kisame chuckled while making a placating gesture with both hand.

"Hn."

"So… Are you going to see what it is? Or can I chop it in half with samehada."

Wordlessly, Itachi activate his sharingan to check if there were any immediate traps. Then, he reached out and plucked the scroll from the air.

_Might as well get it over with,_ Itachi thought. _Though I wonder what it is. It's not often that missing nins get mail._ He opened it.

"Poof," the scroll erupted, encasing the area with dense white smoke.

Both S-rank missing nins were immediately on guard, dropping into a battle ready stance. Itachi swiftly withdrew a kunai, and Kisame raised samehada into a position where he could attack efficiently as soon as he wanted.

However, what appeared was both a relief, and a letdown. Instead of a team of hunter nins, ready to clash, there was a simple looking letter where the scroll had once been.

"What the hell?" Kisame wondered, getting out of his attack stance.

Itachi didn't say anything, but the narrowing of his eyebrows and the slight clench of his jaws showed that he was annoyed.

Grabbing the letter with a bit more force than necessary, Itachi opened it and began to read.

As he read, his face turned impassive and then, a smirk found its way onto his face.

"Itachi?"

* * *

><p><em>Uchiha Itachi,<em>

_Wow, I can't believe I'm actually writing to you. Of course, you're wondering who this is, right? Well, all you need to know is that I'm a _friend_ of sorts to you little brother Uchiha Sasuke. I'm writing because, to be frank, I am so pissed at your brother that it is not even funny._

_Did you know that Sasuke defected from Konoha? While that is considered secretive information to Konoha, I still feel that you should know. During the chuunin exams, Sasuke received the curse mark from Orochimaru. Yesterday, he left to go train with the snake sannin. I think he left because he feels his peers are growing stronger faster than he is, and because of how easily you beat him when he went after you, after hearing what you did to Hatake Kakashi._

_I tried to stop him last night, but do you know what that jerk did to me? He whispered, "Thank you," AND KNOCKED ME OUT! Then, he dumped me onto a cold stone bench and left. Is that how he was raised? One would have thought that the second heir to the Uchiha clan would have more gentlemanly behaviors. Argh, that stupid bastard! I still can't find the words to describe him. Damn him!_

_Thanks. I feel better now, after letting it all out to another person._

_You also may be wondering why I am writing to _you_. Other than the obvious reason of you being Sasuke's last living relative, I also have this, I don't know, sixth sense? thing telling me that you are someone I can confide too. I talked to you once, you know? And you seemed like a nice person. A person who cared about his brother._

_Anyways, thanks for reading. Also, I've decided to not include who I am. Not only would that be stupid, but you are a missing nin. Telling you who I am can only end badly for me. It's just you, me, and a piece of paper. Furthermore, if this letter is intercepted, I could be arrested for 'fraternizing with enemies of Konoha'._

_However, I ask that you please respond, even though I am anonymously writing to you. I guess you can address me as whatever you see fit. Since I'm not giving you my name or place of residence, can you please respond somehow and leave it in a conspicuous but not too noticeable spot in training ground 3? I am assuming you still remember where that is._

_Regards,_

_Someone-Who's-Annoyed-At-Your-Brother_

* * *

><p><em>to be continued<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Omake!<strong> ~Because we all love omakes~

"Itachi? What the hell is this? Did you anger a priest or something, causing them to summon a haunted scroll to haunt you? Wait, No! It's Hidan right! What did you do to offend Hidan! If this scroll is his, then it's probably bloodthirsty too! Itachi!" Kisame yelled panicky while cautiously edging away from the scroll.

"…Hn." Itachi stated in a monotone voice while having a glaring contest with the scroll. Itachi's eyes bled red.

Suddenly, the scroll stopped following Itachi and headed straight for Kisame.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Kisame screamed like a girl, jumping around trying to dodge the flying scroll while swatting at it with samehada. "It's going to eat me! No! I'm not a fish, no matter what you think, and I won't be a good sacrifice either! Go haunt someone else!"

The scroll paused, and activated its creepy music.

"ITACHI! What the heck did you do to it? Get it away!"

"Hn. Good scroll." Itachi gave a smirk of approval.

_Flashback – Glare battle: Itachi vs Taiō scroll_

_Itachi: What do you want, foolish little scroll._

_Taiō scroll: Whooo! I'm here to haunt you~ you've been a bad boy~_

_Itachi: Hn. Tell me seriously. Right now, you're not even worthy to be killed, but that can change. 5, 4,_

_Taiō scroll: Nyaaaaaaaaah! Can't catch me!_

_Itachi: Mangekyō sharingan! Tsukuyomi!_

_~Inside Tsukuyomi~  
>Itachi: Amaterasu!<br>Taiō scroll: Ahhh! No! Stop! Taiō scroll is a good boy!  
>~ Finish Tsukuyomi~<em>

_Itachi: 3, 2, _

_Taiō scroll (trembling): No! I'll behave! This little girl from Konoha has a letter for you. I'm just the messenger. Let me live! Please, almighty master!_

_Itachi: Hn. Go torture Kisame while I decide whether you are worthy or not to serve under me._

_Taiō scroll: Yes master!_

_End Flashback_

"Itachi, you bastard! Help!"

Itachi smirked again. "Yes Kisame. Hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Foster your hatred. You are weak. Why are you so weak? Because you lack hatred."

"Itachi! I don't want to kill you, I think you have me mixed up with your little brother! Just come help me! Please! I'm begging you! AHHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>written: 1227/2011

edited: 8/14/2012

You all can probably tell that I wrote parts of this in the early morning again =_=" I blame the Winter Break, messing up my sleeping schedule… not that I don't love winter vacation…-content smile- btw, this is love I tell you! I hope you've enjoyed all 17 pages of my hard work.

Next Chapter, Itachi's POV!

What does poor Tachi-kun, the unwilling victim of this whole fiasco, think of the letter?

Also, **review** or I'm going to go into a corner and cry, while cursing you all with voodoo dolls. ~Innocent smile~

Your feedback gives me the inspiration to write. Please leave a comment.

~ DR


	3. Chapter 3 Reaction

**Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper**

**Chapter 3 - Reaction**

**Warnings:** Randomness. OOC-ness. Some language. Does not follow canon exactly.

I am going to skip all of the pre-shippuden filler arcs, and follow the manga for now.

**A/N:** A few days ago, I became a fan of Big Bang, the southern Korean Pop Boy Band – been listening to "Fantastic Baby" non-stop while reading Harry Potter fanfics. The song's really catchy. "Blue" is also another fantastic song. The melody is so sweet and the more I listened to it, the more addicted I got. G-Dragon and TOP are so cool…I love GD's one-streak-of-long-hair hairstyle.

Cookies and Ice cream to all my superb reviewers:** Kitano Hoshie**, **Itachiz waz takenz**,** ChuluSempai18**, **Essy-Chan**, **NorthernLights1239**, **Hika-BOOO the Awesome**, **Toyroys**, a anonymous reviewer,** uchihaitachi21**, anonymous reviewer **Cherryjubilee**, **AngelicSnow**, and **telsykora**.

**Disclaimer:** I own no forms of Manga/Anime; therefore Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Here comes chapter 3 ~ (drum roll in the background)

* * *

><p>Itachi was intrigued. He could count on one hand the number of times he had received mail since he left Konoha. This interesting and enlightening letter was the first personal mail he had received in a long time.<p>

At first, rage burned within him over the fact that Orochimaru had his brother. Ever since the snake sannin had been defeated by him, Itachi had some inkling that his brother might be targeted, but he didn't actually think that it would happen, and _succeed_.

His face had automatically turned blank at that, a defense mechanism that made sure that none of his inner turmoil showed. He was also surprised and angry that Sasuke had defected from Konoha. It was a big blow, especially because he had sacrificed so much in order for his little brother to safely survive there.

Then, reaching the bottom and more interesting part of the letter, he learned that someone had actually written to him because of a _sixth sense telling them that he was a good person_. Itachi then let an amused smirk grace his face. The sender was either another prodigy, and had broken into the top-secret missions record room, or incredibly foolish. He was assuming that it was the latter.

Had he not been who he was, he/she would have been in great danger. There definitely were ways to track people, name or no name.

Glancing down at the letter in his hands, Itachi's mind went into overdrive, immediately beginning to process all the known information about the anonymous sender, and came up with 5 facts:

_The sender is either a shinobi tensai, or lacking in intelligence._ Self explanatory.

_The sender is most likely female._ The writing style was distinctly feminine, and he doubted that a boy would be that emotional over his little brother. Furthermore, any male would go after Sasuke and try to bring him back; most wouldn't even know the elder brother existed, let alone think to write to him.

_She is a genin._ No shinobi ranked chuunin or above would be stupid enough to write to him. They knew of him as an insane clan murderer. Only the Sandaime Hokage, Danzo, and the two elders knew he was innocent and might have written to him. However, they, especially after exiling him, would not have written to inform him about an A-rank, or S-rank, secret like his little brother's defection.

_She is close to his brother._ She was probably a kunoichi of the same age as Sasuke. That would narrow the number of girls down quite a lot.

_She might be one of Sasuke's teammates._ If he knew his brother, then like most Uchihas, Sasuke would be quite anti-social, only speaking to a few selected people. A girl he would commonly interact with and talk to, going as far as to say 'thank you' on the night of his defection, would be one of his genin teammates. That would mean his unknown letter sender is Haruno Sakura, the girl from the civilian background and teammate to the last Uchiha, and the kyuubi jinchuuriki.

Itachi prided himself on the fact that he kept sufficient tabs about his little brother's life to ensure his safety. Knowing of his teamates was just one of it. It was worth looking into. On the other hand, there was also the issue that this might all be a joke, that-

"Itachi?"

Itachi clenched his jaws in annoyance at having his thoughts interrupted.

Kisame stared at his partner. What had him so interested? Itachi was just standing there, seemingly staring at nothing, and completely ignoring him.

"Itachi!" Kisame called again, a little more impatient this time. "What is it?" Samehada gave a gurgle of annoyance as well.

Itachi heaved an internal sigh, though nothing happened on the outside. He would need more time to think on this. He needed to plan out what moves he should make in regards to the letter. There was also the worrying fact of how easy the scroll had found him.

Breaking out of his thoughts, Itachi finally turned to glance at his partner and replied in his monotonous voice, "Nothing important. Let's go, Kisame."

Itachi started walking again, and soon after, Kisame followed. No, now was not the time to think about the letter. They still had a mission to accomplish. He would think more on the matter later that night when he was by himself.

* * *

><p><strong>2 Days Later<strong>

Sakura sat, unseeingly, staring blankly at the empty wall in front of her. She was in the family living room, but her mother had more sense than to disturb her daughter when she was like that.

Sakura smothered a sob as it threatened to arise. She had just been at the hospital, visiting Naruto.

Their mission had failed. Everyone sent out was badly hurt in critical condition with the exception of Shikamaru and Kiba. It had been so hard seeing Naruto, when he was usually bursting around bubbling with pent-up energy, lying prone on the hospital bed with tubes and needles attached.

Though Tsunade and the Kyuubi had done their best in healing his injuries, he was still in a coma. Tsunade had informed her that Naruto would be fine, that he would probably wake up tomorrow because that was just the way he was, but it had still hurt.

And worse, Sasuke was still out there, in the unknown, probably getting his mind polluted by sweet lies spewing out of Orochimaru's mouth. Though she didn't like Sasuke as a potential boyfriend, he was still important to her. Team 7 had gone through so much together, and there was an unbreakable bond. It hurt to see him trying so hard to sever those bonds and falling under the brainwashing of Konoha's enemy.

It hurt.

The more Sakura thought about it, the more the tears threatened to spill. Just as her bottom lip began to tremble, the doorbell rang, and Sakura heard her mother answer it.

A few seconds later, a hand landed on her shoulder. Sakura looked up and stared into the understanding eyes of her friend.

_**XxXxXxXx**_

In the bustling streets in the marketplace of Konoha, a platinum blond figure and a pink figure could be seen walking together.

"Cheer up, Forehead! It's not good to sulk and distance yourself. What will happen, will happen. The only thing you can do is not dwell on past things, and look forward to the future," Ino consoled as she led her friend through the busy intersections.

"Hn."

"Aw come on! Don't tell me you miss him that much, that you're starting to copy his speech patterns!" Ino laughed as she teased Sakura.

"H-Fine." Sakura finally ground out. "Ino-pig, just leave me alone please. I really do not feel like talking."

Ino smirked. "And that's precisely why you need a friend to help you. You would never feel better by isolating yourself. I know you; you are like me. We are social people, and we need to be around others to feel better."

Then, she lowered her voice. "If you really don't want to stay, then please stay for me. I'm hurting too, don't forget. And I want to hang out with my friend to feel better."

Sakura cringed. She knew she was being unreasonably. Truthfully, she secretly appreciated Ino coming to get her, not that she could let her best friend know that. Therefore, on the outside, she hesitantly matched Ino's smirk and replied, "Fine, I'll stay for your sake." She knew that Ino knew her well enough to know what she really meant.

Ino brightened up and cheered, "Yeah! Now come on, hurry up! There are lots of shops waiting with our names on them."

As Sakura let herself be dragged away, she felt a smile develop on her face. It truly was wonderful having friends. Not for the first time, her heart gave a painful twinge at the thought of Sasuke deliberately trying to break away from the people who cared about him.

* * *

><p>Alone in his room, Itachi laid sprawled across the bed on his back. He glanced over his letter again and a smirk graced his face, his eyes lightening in amusement. His reply was perfect.<p>

The last few days were quite busy; he and Kisame had been constantly on the move with new orders from Pein. Only today did he finally get some breathing time, time to think about how he would respond.

At first glance, one might have labeled returning such a letter as somewhat complicated. Though he had suspicions as to who his correspondent was, he had no proof. Basically, he was in the dark as to all of the person's intent and purpose. The sender might not even be actually from Konoha, but rather a spy who learnt of the defection, and was trying to milk information off of him!

Itachi decided he could have just totally ignored the letter, and went on with his life. However, the entire fiasco had piqued his interest, and he _was_ rather bored.

His response had to be cordial yet not familiar, informative without too much information, and a whole lot of other things. However, Itachi was many things, and a genius was one of them. He had gotten the gist of writing such a response a long time ago, so crafting one was hardly difficult.

Sitting up, Itachi pushed of the bed and crouch to the floor. Making the appropriate hand signs for the animal summoning technique, he quietly murmured the jutsu name and slammed his palm onto the floor.

Within moments, a small black raven popped into existence.

* * *

><p>Laughing, Sakura waved goodbye to Ino and started down the path to where her house was. She could feel the joy draining away now that she was alone again.<p>

**"Mou, I don't want to go back to the house."** Inner sprouted out of the blue.

Sakura honestly did not want to go back and be by herself either. It was in the late afternoon, and her mother was most likely out on some household errands. Therefore, the house was most likely empty.

**"Go visit training ground three!"** Inner suddenly suggested.

"Training ground 3? What for- Oh!" Sakura reacted. She resisted the urge to face palm. In the past 2 days, she had only been _going there every two hours in hopes of finding a letter._ It seemed that seeing Naruto had affected her more than she thought.

So far, she had found nothing, but hopefully, things would be different this time.

_**XxXxXxXx**_

Letting out a huge sigh, Sakura despondently plopped down under a large oak tree. "Guess he still hasn't replied. Damn it, it was a stupid whim anyways. I knew he wouldn't take it seriously. The stupid scroll probably went to the wrong person too. Speaking of that, where is the scroll anyways? Wasn't it supposed to get back immediately?"

She rolled onto her back and gazed at the calming blue sky.

"**Cheer up Saku! Cha! He must be extremely busy or something. No one can resist the power of Haruno Sakura!"** Inner cheered in response, waving pom-poms that appeared out of nowhere.

"Maybe, but I can't help but hope that he's going to reply soon. Sometime in the near future would be nice." Sakura grumpily muttered, crossing her arms. "I'm going to go search the area again. Maybe I missed something."

"**Yeah! That's the spirit! Let's GO!"**

Since she had already check most of the more ostentatious spots on the training ground, Sakura thought that she might as well check the bushes. Crawling on the ground through the dense foliage, Sakura concentrated on noticing anything that seemed out of place. A green rock, unusual, but not impossible. Could be moss. Something shiny, Oo! No, wait, just a stray senbon. Something bumpy underneath her hand, aww, just another plain rock. A raven hopping up and down in a clearing and flying flips in the air, nope, common scene- wait, What!

Sakura gaped. She rubbed her eyes. Nope, the bird was still there. It was not her imagination.

See, normal birds, usually fly around and do normal bird things. Even trained nin birds were like that, though perhaps more graceful.

However, this little critter, in the clearing surrounded by bushes, was actually hopping up and down, while performing advances tricks and flying patterns. If Sakura hadn't seen the obvious joyous look on the bird's face, though how it managed to have that expression, Sakura had no clue, then she would have thought that it was in pain.

Backing up, Sakura accidentally stepped on a twig that just happened to conveniently be beneath her foot. The cracking sound alerted the raven instantly, startling it and causing it to pause mid-flip, and then land painfully on its back.

Seeing that the poor thing wasn't getting back up, Sakura ran forward and despite feeling quite stupid for talking to a bird, asked frantically, "Ne, are you ok!"

The raven, however, did not give any response and instead, scrambled up and crookedly backed away from the incoming human, and then flapped its wings and took off.

If Sakura had looked at the raven while it was flying away, she would have noticed that the there was no clumsiness at all in its flight, and no hint of dizziness; it was as if its fall and scrambling had all been an act.

Instead, Sakura's gaze was focused on the spot of the raven's take-off. There was a letter. In elegant script, it was addressed to 'Anonymous Writer'.

An ecstatic smile beamed across her face.

* * *

><p>"Yo yo, Itachi-Sama! I delivered the letter, like ya asked me."<p>

"Rave," Itachi acknowledged, coming out of his meditation. He had been sitting in a clearing not unlike the one Sakura was in before the raven had appeared. "Report"

Rave turned serious, - even the energetic little bird knew when was and was not the time to fool around- and landed on a tree branch near Itachi.

"You were right! It was a pink haired girl wearing a Konoha hitai-ite! The look she had when she saw the letter could not be faked, she really was happy, and she definitely recognized what the letter meant."

Taking a breath, it continued, "Um, I couldn't stay hidden and subtly lead her to the letter after dropping it off, because, uh," At this, Rave had the decency to look a bit abashed, or at least as abashed as a raven could look. "I didn't think she would come for another few minutes, since she was just sitting underneath a tree, so I was caught unaware while practicing my, uh, aerodynamics."

Seeing Itachi's narrowing gaze, the bird quickly added, "However, all's good! She had no idea that I was from you, and probably thought I was just crazy. I managed to put on an act once I realized she was there." Then, he added under his breath, "Though, she'll probably make the connection later on, seeing as I am pretty sure no untrained bird can do what I can…"

Itachi stared, onyx black eyes drilling into the little raven.

Rave fidgeted uncomfortably. The silence dragged on.

Itachi opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Giving a resigned mental sigh, Itachi thought better of it. It wouldn't work anyways. Rave had always been special. Even if he was reprimanded, he would just do it again. Rave was free like that. And that was probably why the raven was favored, odd quirks and all; Itachi had never been able to behave the way he wanted – the perfect image of the clan heir had always been most important.

Instead, Itachi gave a nod at the subdued raven, before softly intoning, "Good job. Though unorthodox, it got the job done. You are dismissed."

Rave perked up somewhere within the middle of the sentence, and by the end, he was back to his happy chirpy self. He knew that Itachi-sama was a man of few words, so the praise meant a lot. Giving a small bow, he bounced a few times before launching into the air. He called out, "Hai Hai Itachi-Sama! See ya next time! Ja!"

Watching his summon disappear into a puff of smoke, Itachi's lips slowly contorted into a smirk as he thought about what he had learned. So it _was_ Haruno Sakura eh? He vaguely remembered the visage of a small pink-haired girl back when he was still in Konoha. This was interesting. Very interesting. And since life was dull for the time being, with no big missions happening, going along with what she started, and getting some entertainment seemed like the best plan.

Later, as the sun set for that day, even the night itself shivered when it felt waves of evil satisfaction rolling off of a partially insane teenager.

* * *

><p>Hurrying home, Sakura almost squealed with joy when she found that her house was still empty. That meant she had some quality time to spend with the letter, and maybe her scroll.<p>

Bursting in through the bedroom door and slamming it shut behind her, she knelt to the ground and turned her focus to the scroll lying in her hands.

As she reached out to unseal the scroll, Sakura suddenly experiences one of the biggest migraines she had ever had.

"**You fool!"** Inner shrieked at top volume. **"What if it's booby trapped! It **_**is**_** a S-rank missing nin after all! You could have killed us!" **Inner finished with an annoyed scowl on her face.

"Eh, hehe, yeah… sorry." Sakura sheepishly placated as she rubbed the back of her neck. _Whoops, too excited._

Checking the scroll with her chakra and detecting a mild genjutsu, Sakura quickly dispelled it. Finding nothing else, she reached for the scroll.

Opening it, Sakura began to read.

_My my, isn't this something._

_It's not every day someone like me gets personal mail you know…_

_I sincerely hope you do not make a habit of writing to famed missing nin; I already have suspicions as to who you are. Had it been anyone other than me, I suspect you would have received a hello by now, especially since you opened the letter. The genjutsu you dispelled earlier could have been a tracker, set to inform me of its location the second it's released. Had you dispelled it at your home, then I'm sorry to say that I now know where you live. I could have hidden in the surroundings, and watched who picked up the letter._

_Be careful, you're playing with fire._

_Lucky for you, I do not see any merit in casting an intricate jutsu just to find your location, nor do I have enough spare time to monitor the letter at all times. Be warned though, I have others ways._

_Moving on, while I do not appreciate being used to vent on, it was informative so I will let it slide. My little brother is moving nicely along the path I've set for him – I am pleased._

_Seeing as I am quite bored these days, I am not opposed to continuing this correspondence if you desire. However, the next time you send a letter, do make sure that the scroll will not distract me should I be occupied. I recognize the scroll as a communication scroll used quite frequently years ago, and as its owner, you are capable of setting those features._

_Uchiha Itachi_

* * *

><p><em>to be continued<em>

* * *

><p>written: 3 20/ 2012

edited: 8/14/2012

Hiya guys and gals. I've decided that my characters are going to be somewhat OOC, because it's really hard to write fanfiction with them not being like that. Itachi will still be a quite genius of few words and kick-ass skills, and Sakura will still be a somewhat inexperience little girl at the beginning, but they will be kind of different from canon.

As you can see in the last-ish part, I've made Itachi into a kind of cool sadist with a wicked sense of humor, but not really, because argh, it's hard to explain. Just read on and find out later. He's not the emotion-dead pacifist we see from the canon; he is just really good at hiding his emotions and wearing a mask. I find him cooler and more awesome this way.

Sakura won't be as annoying.

Just so you know, Rave is mine. He doesn't exist in the Kishimoto world.

Your feedback gives me the inspiration to write. Please leave a comment.

~ DR


	4. Chapter 4 Moving Forward

**Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper**

**Chapter 4 – Moving Forward**

**Warnings:** Randomness. OOC-ness. Some language. Does not follow canon exactly.

I am going to skip all of the pre-shippuden filler arcs, and follow the manga for now, so Naruto leaves with Jiraiya right away.

**A/N:** Beta, Beta, where art thou, my future beta! My writing has often been classified as awkward… help would be appreciated.

Moving on, cough.

I have written out the structure for the next few chapters!

Thanks for reviewing, **ChuluSempai18** , anonymous reviewer **cherryjubilee **, **AngelDemonSakura** , **Hika-BOOO the Awesome** , **Itachiz Waz Takenz** , **HAPPY POTTER. IKR** , and **Toyroys** ; You guys are the best.

The rest of my readers should learn from you guys :) Hint Hint Wink Wink.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't help the shiver that ran down her back when she read Itachi's response. He had actually replied! Just wrapping her head around that fact was taking her some effort.<p>

Finishing the letter, she knew that Itachi was right. She had been extremely careless in her excitement. However, the thrill of writing to a dangerous stranger, especially one who called her on her errors, and then reading their reply, was exhilarating.

Although what he had written about Sasuke was a bit sad, Sakura decided that what Itachi felt was his business. If his set path went against her and Naruto's wish of bringing Sasuke back, then they would just have to bring Sasuke back anyways. Period. However, she would worry about that later.

Tracing over the elegant handwriting with her fingers, Sakura could feel an insane grin spread across her face, she _needed_ more of this. She should get started on her letter right away. She should research more about Itachi. She should …

As Sakura busied herself with her thoughts, Inner watched everything with a sweatdrop. This was pretty much a repeat of what had happened the day Sakura received the scroll.

"**Eh, obsessive much?"** Inner wryly commented. What she did not expect to get as an answer was more loud insane laughing and mutters of "I need" and "I must".

_Damn,_ Inner thought. _Looks like Saku will be indisposed of for a while._ Worst of all, it was currently night time, so it really looked like it would be a repeat of the first night. Inner was so not looking forward to the next morning.

After a few worried thoughts, however, Inner found that luck was on her side. As it turned out, Sakura seriously had no idea what to reply with. Therefore, a few minutes later, a sulking Sakura and a cheerful Inner decided to go to bed.

"**Night Saku!" **She cried out, happy that her predictions were wrong.

Sakura just grumbled. Inner thought she heard mumbles of "my dreams better be inspirational," but she wasn't sure and frankly, she didn't really care.

* * *

><p>The next morning, bright and early, Sakura set off to visit Naruto at the hospital. Knowing him, he would probably wake up sometime that day, and Sakura didn't want to miss it.<p>

She was still rather sore that she didn't know what to write Itachi with, but she was getting over it pretty fast. After all, she was bound to be inspired in some way! The day was still fresh.

Waving to the lady behind the receptionist's desk, Sakura made her way up to room 304, Naruto's room.

"I really hope Naruto has woken up," She told Inner. "It just isn't like him to be lying still and silent."

"**Trust me, I know." **Inner groaned, thinking of Naruto's usual over-happy self.

Pushing open the door, Sakura with greeted with a loud but warm, "Sakura-chan!"

Sakura could feel her face burst into a smile.

"Naruto! You're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked while moving towards the bed.

"Pretty good, you?" Naruto winced as he tried to sit up.

"Naruto, get down you idiot! You're going to hurt yourself. Don't overdo it." Sakura exclaimed, pushing Naruto back down towards the bed.

"Ah, fine fine." Naruto chuckled.

For a while, both didn't say anything. Instead, they hung on to the comforting feeling of team 7 each other emitted. There was no need to dwell on the sad things; both knew that Sasuke was gone, at least for a while.

The peaceful silence didn't last for long though.

"I'm sorry Sakura. I couldn't keep my promise." Naruto looked down at his hands. "Don't worry, I will get stronger. Next time, Teme won't be able to escape, and we'll all be together again."

Sakura felt like she didn't know what to say. Naruto had hit bull's eye on her fears, but with the wrong person. She was the one who was supposed to say those words! While Naruto had worked his ass off trying to get Sasuke back, she had just sat at home waiting.

"No! Naruto, I" Sakura started in a conflicted voice. However, a sound at the door stopped her.

"Oh, Sakura, you're here too?" Came Tsunade's voice through the door. "That's nice of you to visit Naruto."

"Tsunade-baachan! What are you doing here! Oh, wait, I know! I bet you missed me!" Naruto gave a mischievous fox-like grin, cheering up immediately.

Sakura giggled. One would have thought he was a girl with the way his mood swings changed.

"As if, brat. I just came because there's a lack a competent medics who can treat injuries to your extent." Tsunade gruffly denied.

"Che, just admit it baa-chan, you missed me." Naruto claimed proudly.

"Did not, you brat!" Tsunade laughed.

Turning to Sakura, she gestured, "See what I have to put up with?"

"Hey!" Naruto pouted indignantly.

Sakura laughed in spite of her despondent mood. It was nice seeing that at least Naruto was back to his normal self.

"Ok, well I need to get down to business so Sakura, if you would step out for a while…" Tsunade trailed off, expecting Sakura to get her point.

"Hai Tsunade-sama!" Sakura still didn't move though. She had missed being around Naruto's sunny personality, and wasn't in a hurry to get away.

"Come on, get out. You're not helping by just standing there!" Tsunade teased in a light tone.

Sakura stilled at those words. Her smile froze. "Ha- Hai Tsunade-sama. Excuse me."

She tried to maintain her current happy tone, but it just fell flat. "Bye Naruto."

Naruto immediately sensed that something was wrong. Sakura only spoke in blank tones when she was close an emotional breakdown on the inside. That was her way of dealing with it. He exclaimed, "Ne! Sakura-chan! Are you ok?! You can stay if you really want! I'm sure baa-chan won't mind, right?"

"What did you call me, you brat!"

"No, I'm fine." Sakura whispered, her back now facing the two who were completely absorbed in bickering with each other. "Bye."

As soon as the door closed behind her, she fled. _You're not helping him by just standing there. You're not helping. You're not helping._ This was exactly what she had been feeling like before Tsunade came in, but hearing it out loud, though unintentional, felt even worse.

"_I'm trying!" _Sakura screamed in her mind as she raced out of the hospital.

"**Saku. Take a deep breath and then get to training ground 3. Once you're there, count to ten and try to calm down."**

"Okay, I'll try."

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Tsunade really was right. She was useless. What had she done when Sasuke had defected? Nothing! Naruto and the other boys had all risks their lives while she sat at home feeling mad at Sasuke. Come to think of it, what had she done when Team 7 was still in action? Basically nothing. She was worthless as a kunoichi. What had she been thinking?

"**Saku. Stop hyperventilating and count to ten. Good, now what would calm you down?"**

"Nothing, unless you can magically make me not useless."

"**Um, we can start training, and I'll push you, but anything you can do write now?**

"Writing to Itachi." A flat tone stated after a moment's hesitation.

Inner really wished that Sakura would snap out of it soon. It was getting extremely unnerving.

"**Uh, ok. Then let's go home and get the scroll."**

"No need. I have it right here." Sakura reached into her weapons holster and pulled out the Taiō Scroll.

"…**What's it doing there."**

"Nothing. I just felt the urge to carry it everywhere I go. Now excuse me, I want to start."

"**Ah, hai hai." **Despite not wanting to leave Sakura alone in her condition, Inner retreated to the back of Sakura's mind.

* * *

><p><em>Uchiha Itachi,<em>

_Thanks. I think I WILL take your offer of you being my writing companion. _

_Have you ever felt that you weren't strong enough? No, what am I thinking. Of course you haven't. You are, well, were, the perfect Uchiha clan heir. Of course you have never felt useless like I'm currently feeling._

_Excuse me for rambling. I am a wreck right now. Sorry if I sounded snappish. It's nothing personal. I'm just in that mood. You know what; I think I will stop now before I offend you even more._

_Thanks for reading. Reply if you have time. I would appreciate it._

Sakura stared and her letter, and then sighed. Quickly sealing the Taiō Scroll lest she changed her mind, Sakura thought to Inner, "Fantastic. Now he'll think we're whiny, emotional, and rude…Whatever."

The scroll disappeared with a few words and a blast of chakra.

The duo stood there, staring at the place where the scroll used to be, neither talking. Then, Inner sighed. **"Saku, what do you want."**

Still staring blankly, though she felt a little better, Sakura detachedly answered, "To be strong. To be strong enough so that I would not have to depend on anyone."

"**Then why not make it so. Stand up for yourself. Pursue it."**

Sakura glared into nothing. "It's not as easy as it sounds," She finally whispered after a while. "I have no idea where to start."

Inner sighed. There was nothing she could do.

"**Let's just go home. You'll figure something out."** She suggested.

"Okay." Sakura agreed. All of a sudden, Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "Oh Crap! I forgot to set the option of 'needlessly annoying the target until the letter is retrieved' off!

Sakura groaned despondently. "I'm screwed."

Hoping for the best that she had not caught Itachi with a bad time, she left the training ground. There was nothing else she could do.

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere in the land of lightning<strong>

Kisame looked up and chuckled. "Looks like it's going to rain soon Itachi. Let's go find some shelter."

Itachi stopped walking and looked up. "Hn, agreed. Should we set up for camp, or head to town?"

Kisame pondered for a while, and asked, "Where's the nearest town?"

"7 miles."

"Naw, let's make camp then! I prefer the wilderness anyways." Kisame gave a shark-like grin. "I think I see a clearing a few meters north. Let's head there. I think there's a late and waterfall around this area as well."

"That's acceptable."

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Upon reaching the flat piece of land a few minutes later, Itachi and Kisame started prepping with a well-practiced proficiency. Within moments, everything was set up.

At that time, Kisame suddenly stood and stated, "I'm going hunting. I'm hungry. Any specific animal?"

Receiving no answer, Kisame grinned and continued, "Fine, go do whatever you want. See ya later."

As soon as Itachi heard the footsteps die away into the now darkening woods, he headed due west, to where he could hear the faint roaring of the waterfall.

Reaching the water, Itachi inhaled and took a deep calming breath. He had always liked the water, and the way it made the air smell fresh and misty. Part of the attachment was probably also due to the fact that his second affinity, after fire, was water. He had been shocked when he found out, as was his father, since fire and water were dead opposites. As time went on though, he had come to appreciate the gentle and calming element.

Stripping off the heavy cloak and his top shirt, Itachi seamlessly stepped onto the flowing water without another thought. Striding broadly toward the waterfall while keeping aware of his surroundings, he allowed his mind to wander.

The past few days had been somewhat taxing. He and Kisame were ordered to go on a reconnaissance mission to a small neighboring country of Kumo's, to see whether if they could be corrupted into being Akatsuki friendly. Several mind-aching negotiating had ensued, but Itachi was confident that the leader would be please. Not that he cared, of course. He operated according to his own plans.

Nearing the waterfall, Itachi took a few minutes to admire the ruthless energetic way the water thundered down the cliff in the basin where he was standing.

Then, he took a step forward and plunged in.

Itachi didn't know when he had gotten into the habit, but standing underneath waterfalls was something he did whenever he could. It was therapeutic, the feeling of the water harshly caressing his skin.

Standing under the water also felt like all his sins, worries, and the copious amounts of blood he had shed were all being washed away.

After what felt like an eternity, Itachi stepped out again. The water thundered on behind him as he calmly walked back to shore.

Using a fire jutsu that just emitted heat, he dried his clothes and started heading back to camp.

However, not even had he taken 2 steps before he sensed something popping into existence behind him. Itachi smirked. He didn't even have to look to confirm that the scroll was back for another visit. He wondered what the girl had to say this time.

Gripping the scroll, he added chakra to his hand and didn't let go, even when the area busted into smoke. When the air cleared, Itachi smirked wider. The scroll was still there. If he remembered correctly, which he did, then if the recipient did not let go, the scroll would not be able to disappear. As long as he anchored it to something with his chakra, he could write a response inside the scroll.

He didn't really feel like dealing with Rave's chattering.

Slowing extracting the letter, Itachi skimmed it.

It wasn't long like last time's, but Itachi hadn't expect it to be.

Sakura was quite annoying, he decided. Then again, which 12 year old girls were not? At least she wasn't a fangirl… anymore.

Using a small fire jutsu to burn a piece of wood he had cut off, Itachi used the charcoal and drafted a quick response.

_You're lucky I'm in a generous mood, little girl._

_While I am most definitely not a therapist, I can offer you one piece of advice: You want to be strong? Get stronger then. Nothing will happen if you do not work for it. Train every day, find a sensei, and put your heart into it._

_Moving on, if all your letters are going to be complaints, then I shall retract my offer. I have no patience in listening to the whining of heartbroken girls._

_Beware the next time you write._

_Uchiha Itachi_

Releasing the scroll, Itachi watched it pop away, leaving the night empty as it had been before, with only the sounds of rushing water.

When a blur moved towards the direction of a campfire in the distance, the surroundings were left emptier than ever.

* * *

><p>Naruto was calmly staring out the window, taking in the peaceful scenery of Konoha. It was a nice change from the Valley of the End and the infinite darkness he had been subjected to for the past few days.<p>

The sound of a doorknob turning shook him out of his thoughts, and he turned to greet whoever had entered.

"Sakura-chan! You came back!" He was honestly glad to see her.

Waving his arms, he cried, "Come sit down! Give me a hug?"

Sakura giggled. "Maybe later."

"Aww, fine." Naruto grinned. "So how've you been?"

"I'm doing fine I suppose. Been taking some time to plan out what my next step in life should be you know?" Sakura gave a weak smile. There was no way she was going to reveal her internal dilemmas to Naruto, no matter how good-hearted he was. This was something she had to figure out herself.

"So how's your training going? Knowing you, you're going to become even more of a training lunatic now. What are you going to do once you get out of the hospital?"

"Train some more of course! You know me so well Sakura-chan." Naruto laughed. His eyes glittered with barely restrained anticipation as he said the next few words.

"And Ero-sennin has agreed to train me. We are leaving as soon as I get out! Just you wait and see, when I come back, I will be kick ass and super cool! Teme will be begging on his knees the next time we fight!"

Sakura gave a sad smile as he went on talking. She needed to do something as well. Like Itachi had told her that morning, she wouldn't get anything if she wasn't willing to fight and work for it. It had been a surprise to receive a letter that fast, but it was greatly appreciated. It was time to take things into her own hands, and she had a vague idea of where to start.

Standing up, Sakura made her way to the door.

Naruto stopped talking at the sound of the door opening.

"Sakura-chan?" He questioned.

Her back still facing him, Sakura firmly stated, "I'm sorry Naruto. Wait for me a little longer, and the next time, I will be useful. We will bring Sasuke back together."

Turning her head to smile at him, Sakura left the hospital room.

Behind her, Naruto gave a genuine smile. Sakura was starting to get it, that there was no easy way to being a ninja. One had to put their whole heart and effort into it. He couldn't wait until the next time he saw her. He was sure she would be different. And in a very good way.

For now though, when the hell was Ero-sennin! He needed to be busted out of the hospital!

* * *

><p>Walking out of Naruto's room, Sakura allowed a genuine smile to appear as well. She knew what she was going to do now. Her resolve was burning brightly, and all she had to do was pursue what she wanted. She could do it! She would become strong, and no one would see her as a burden anymore. She would become one of the strongest, and elite, and worthy of being on a team with the prodigious 'last loyal Uchiha', thought that wasn't really accurate anymore, the kyuubi jinchuuriki powerhouse - Naruto had informed the team of his secret after the chuunin exams, where they had grown closer- , and the sharingan no Kakashi.<p>

Without even realizing it, Sakura's feet had taken her to the hokage building. When she snapped out of her trance, Sakura noticed that she was already at the Hokage's door, with her hand poised to knock.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura smiled to herself. She could and would do it. A knocking sound vibrated through the hallways.

"Come in!"

Pushing the door opened, Sakura walked into the next phrase of her life.

**XxXxXxXxXx**

Tsunade put away her paperwork and stared at the pre-teenage girl standing slightly fidgeting in front of her.

"Are you sure you would like to become my apprentice. My training will be hard, and you will suffer and work harder than you ever have before. Are you willing to live through it all?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade noticed that although the girl seemed nervous, her voice had not wavered, and it was full of conviction. She gave a hidden smirk of approval.

"Then, genin Haruno Sakura, I shall accept you as my apprentice in the arts of medical ninjutsu and other things. You will start tomorrow at 8:00 sharp in this room, and I will expect great things from you. My apprentice will be widely regarded, and you will not disappoint me!"

"Hai! Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade gave a smirk that was actually seen this time. "Starting now, you will address me as Shishou. Now what are you still doing here? I don't want to deal with you until I have to, which is tomorrow."

Sakura let out a grateful smile at her new teacher. "Hai, Tsunade-shishou. See you tomorrow!"

Closing the door softly behind her, Sakura left. Tsunade lightly chuckled, having an apprentice again will be interesting. She could hardly wait to start the tortur-cough, training.

* * *

><p><em>Itachi-san,<em>

_Good evening. I have figured out what I am to do now; thank you for putting up with me. I promise I will strive to not whine to you again anytime soon :)_

_I have been insensitive in my past two letters, only thinking of myself… How are you doing?_

_HS_

* * *

><p><strong>A Few Months Time skip<strong>

The past months had been, strenuous yet rewarding, Sakura decided. Naruto had departed with Jiraiya the same day her training with Tsunade had started. Kakashi had temporarily gone back to ANBU work. With all the other members of her team gone, Sakura was determined to work to catch up and to not fall behind.

When Tsunade claimed that her work was tiring, she had not been lying! Sakura could not remember another time in her life when her schedule looked like running, training, lunch, studying, training, training, quick dinner, jog, and collapse onto bed unconscious.

However, she had gotten way better in terms of stamina, endurance, taijutsu, and jutsus in general. In medical jutsus, she had even gotten to the point where she could hear a small cut quite easily. It hadn't seemed like much, but the other medics looked impressed and Tsunade-shishou had looked pleased, so it must have been a good sign. Everything was definitely worth it.

With Itachi, she had exchanged a few more letters with him, and it worried her how happy she would become wherever she got a letter. He was a missing nin, and she shouldn't be happy, but she couldn't help it. After the letter where she stated that she would start working hard, her _resolve_ letter as she now called it, their exchanges had become more light and casual. Sometimes, she would inquire of his hobbies and vice versa, and sometimes, the weather was mentioned.

Neither had really mentioned anything important, but Sakura decided that it was pretty nice knowing that Itachi had a sweet tooth and loved anko dangos. She was sure no one else in Konoha could boast of knowing that.

Speaking of Itachi, he still hadn't replied her last letter, which was sent out approximately a week ago. He had never taken this long before. Sakura pursed her lips with worry. Did he become bored with their correspondence?

"**Oh chill, Saku. He's probably really busy. You know how he's out there fighting for his life everyday… not everyone can live as cushy as we can in Konoha."** Inner supplied.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I still worry though, he's not hurt is h-" Sakura stopped. When had she started to care about his health?!

They weren't even friends! Well, maybe, actually, Argh! It was so confusing. She didn't even know what she was supposed to feel. She was Konoha. He was Missing Ninja. That should have defined them as enemies. It clearly didn't feel very hostile between them!

"I think I am going to write him another letter." Sakura muttered under her breath.

Inner Sakura gave an inward knowing smile.

* * *

><p><em>Itachi,<em>

_Hey, how's it going? You didn't reply the last letter even though it was sent a week ago. I thought _–scratched out ink-_ you know what, never mind. I'm sure you're fine._

_I would like an answer to my latest question though, DO you think having a sword or specific weapon is better than having kunais and shurikens, and then fighting using tai, nin, and gen jutsu?_

_Personally, I lean towards the latter, though learning how to use a katana would be cool._

_Reply some time in the near future please!_

_~HS_

Itachi read with amusement. His absence for a week had been a test of some sort for him. He had been curious as to how Sakura would feel if he didn't reply for a while, and what she would do about it.

The answer was quite favorable. It was always nice to have someone hold fond feelings for you… Easier to exploit should he choose to, though presently, he could see no profit in doing so with Sakura.

* * *

><p><em>HS,<em>

_Last week has been somewhat busy. I'm glad you worried for me though you didn't have to. I'm fine._

_As for your question, I would say to learn the use of a large weapon if you have time, but to master the basics of fighting without first. In a battle, unless you are truly proficient, the latter is more useful._

_Itachi_

Sakura blushed as she read about the 'worrying' part. Though she hadn't wanted to admit it, reading it had just cemented the fact. If Itachi could pick out that fact in her letter, then it must have been pretty obvious.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, I suppose you're right. So, what's new in your life?<em>

_Ne, Itachi, you know, today's my birthday. Can you give me a useful water jutsu as a present? Or some random tips in working with water? _

_I've been reading on water jutsu these past days, and it seems really interesting! I've seen how some really good water fighters and just draw up water when they are standing on lakes, and use it to fight. No matter how much chakra I use or how much will I have, it just doesn't work!_

_Any tips? Thanks._

_HS_

* * *

><p>In a town somewhere in the earth country, Itachi sat cross legged on the floor of him room in the inn, meditating.<p>

A knock sounded at the door, and Kisame appeared, "Oi, Itachi, you got another letter! The scroll's here."

Kisame left, presumably heading toward the kitchen, and the scroll flew in.

Itachi let out a small smile though it was gone once he realized it. He couldn't help but feel that he was growing fond of her.

Itachi frowned. This was bad; he couldn't get close to anyone if his future plans were to work. He'd have to be more cautious and watch himself. For now though, as long as he wasn't too attached, he could still go with the flow.

Life did seem much more interesting like this than just waiting for his little brother to grow stronger.

* * *

><p><em>to be continued<em>

* * *

><p>Omake by request:<p>

Rave vs. Taiō Scroll

Rave happily flew back towards where his master Itachi-sama was. He had been sent to deliver a message to the blue sharky man saying that Itachi-sama was not going back to the inn that night. He couldn't wait to get back and tell Itachi-sama that he had fulfilled his job.

Flying over a forest, Rave caught a glimpse of a dot on a hill in a clearing. There was Itachi-sama! Eagerly, Rave started going faster.

Pumping his wings up and down, he sped towards his awesome master. Suddenly, Rave had the weird sensation that something, not a bird, was flying beside him.

Screeching to a stop, he hovered and searched for the mysterious thing emitting the energy. Up, no. Down, no. Right, no. Left, no. Forward… yes.

_Yes!?_ Rave cawed angrily. While he had stopped to look, that thing had continued speeding to his master!

Oh no, he though. That thing must not get anywhere near my master. I must stop it.

Using his special nin-bird training, Rave zoomed in front of the thing, stopping it in its tracks.

Rave glared at it. The thing, apparently a flying scroll, was still trying to get around him. He couldn't let this suspicious looking object get to Itachi-sama!

"Halt!" He cried. "Who aims to disturb Itachi-sama from his peaceful solitude?!"

The scroll finally seemed to notice the raven. Seeing that the creature wasn't about to move out of its way, the Taiō Scroll got mad, and unfurled itself. It had work to do! And this thing was getting in its way! Like magic, words appeared.

_My name is _Taiō Scroll. _Move out of my way, bird. I have a message for my master Itachi._

Rave became mad as well. "Who said Itachi-sama is your master? He's mine! And no, I will not let you suspicious thing have anything to do with Itachi-sama. Go away!"

_Look, I have things to do and I am busy. Unlike you. Now move!_

" Never! You'll have to fight through me!"

_Bring it on then._

With a roar, Rave charged at the scroll, which rolled itself back up, and charged back at the feathered animal.

Unknown to the two, a pair of ruby-red eyes watched the whole exchange amusedly. A sadistic glint flared to life. He would have to summon Rave more often, and time it to exactly when he could feel the scroll approaching.

* * *

><p>written: 49/ 2012

edited: 8/14/2012

If you haven't figured out by now, the first part of this story will focus more on Sakura, and as she and Itachi meet up later on, then there will be more Itachi. Right now, there is no romance; that will happen later.

This chapter was a needed transition. Sakura has figured out all her insecurities by now, so next chapter, things will start moving along.

I know that Sakura's birthday is March 28th, but meh, this is close enough :P

Haha, I am one of those authors who update irregularly whenever inspiration strikes. Sorry ^.^ Don't worry though, I have made a promise to myself to never give up on my stories. You can count of this story to finish eventually.

Also, if you didn't understand from the A/N at the top, I am **still looking for a beta. PM or review if interested.**

Your feedback gives me the inspiration to write. Please leave a comment.

~ DR


	5. Chapter 5 Mission part 1

**Just You, Me, and a Piece of Paper**

**Chapter 5 – Mission part 1**

**Warnings:** Randomness. OOC-ness. Some language. Does not follow canon exactly.

I am going to skip all of the pre-shippuden filler arcs, and follow the manga, so Naruto leaves with Jiraiya right away.

**A/N:** Hey, it's been a while guys. I've gone back and made a few changes in the first 4 chapters, so please go take a look. Most of you probably need a refresher anyways since it's been so long since I've updated… no excuse – I was just lazy.

The former chapters have not been miraculously turned super awesome, but I think they are slightly better. I have always sucked at writing narratives; I do better with the formal expository writing, but hey! At least I have the confidence to try and the will to improve ;)

Hopefully, the chapters will get better as time goes on.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Thanks for reviewing! I appreciated it :)**

Chapter 5

* * *

><p><em>Itachi – sensei,<em>

_Yo! Thanks for those tips. I understand what you mean now – water is a free element. It cannot be bended to one's will. One has to subtly manipulate and shape it into what we need - I cannot force it to move with my chakra, I have to persuade it._

_So, moving on. Are you going to give me anything? Can you please give me another useful water jutsu?_

_HS_

* * *

><p><em>First off, don't call me sensei.<em>

_Second off, no. I already gave you one._

_Itachi_

* * *

><p>Sakura pouted as the read the last letter. Stingy old man. She quickly placed the letter in her weapon's pouch, and ran out of her room – she was late for training with Tsunade. The times it had happened before, the punishments weren't pretty.<p>

**_XxXxXxXx_**

"Shanaro!" Sakura roared, the earth shattering beneath her fist.

Tsunade gracefully leapt into the air, avoiding any impact from the blast. She immediately began hurling kunais.

Sakura grimaced as a kunai nicked her in the upper arm despite her efforts to dodge. Leaping to her left, she did a quick roll and stood up.

Tsunade landed back on the ground, and for a few seconds, both kunoichis stood there, silently evaluating each other. Internally, Sakura made a face. This was _so_ not going well. Why had she chosen today to be late?! As her punishment, Tsunade had seen fit to propose an impromptu spar. Sakura always ended up hurt in spars. Spars were not fun. Of course, she had no delusions of winning, but she expected herself to do well at least. With the rate things were going, Sakura wouldn't be surprised if she was made to run laps around Konoha afterwards.

Taking rapid glances of her surroundings, Sakura wracked her brain for ideas. If she didn't do something spectacular soon, then – she shuddered. She didn't even want to think of the training regiment in store for her.

Focusing on the task as hand, she made a mental checklist of the resources she still had. She was low on weapons, having thrown most of them, and only had 2 kunais and 3 shurikens left. She didn't have any other equipment and her stamina was running out. She was also low on chakra, and would probably only have enough left for one last jutsu. This fight would have to end soon.

As her eyes ghosted over the brook flowing conveniently only a few meters away, she was stuck with an idea. The plan was thoroughly calculated within seconds and allowing a devious grin to curl into existence, Sakura acted.

"Shanaro!" Sakura cried again, as she punched the earth. Tsunade once again flipped into the air but this time, Sakura was ready when she threw a kunai.

Reaching into her own pouch and pulling out one of her kunais, Sakura aimed, and let out a silent breath of relief when her's deflected the incoming weapon. Then, her eyebrows narrowed. No time to get distracted; time for phase 2.

As Tsunade neared the ground, Sakura reach back to her weapons holster and brought out her last 3 shurikens. Throwing them, Sakura grinned when Tsunade had no choice but to create an earth wall due to not having time to dodge. Just as she had planned – now, her mentor wouldn't be able to see her actions for a few seconds.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" Sakura excitedly whispered as she made the hand signs for the simpler version Itachi had taught her. It wasn't as strong, and not as intimidating-looking as the real one, but it was still powerful. It was good enough to get the job done. Besides, she didn't have enough time to run through all 44 required hand signs since her hand seals speed was still not fantastic. A sleek looking dragon rose out of the stream, and swayed a little bit. Sakura gulped, and concentrated hard. The dragon steadied, and its golden yellow eyes narrowed. Then with a defiant roar, charged at Tsunade.

Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw the incoming dragon from her blind spot where the earth wall once was. She tried to move away, but it was too late. The water dragon hit her point blank in the middle of her back, and the fifth Hokage was sent careening into a tree. Sprinting after her, Sakura quickly grabbed her hands and tied them securely with ninja wire before the older woman had time to react. Then, the whole scheme was followed up with by a well-placed kunai, right next to Tsunade's jugular vein. Tsunade's head lowered in defeat.

Sakura froze with shock – had she actually done it? She had! She defeated Tsunade, one of the legendary sannin, in a spar! She hadn't thought that her plan would work so well. Then, her daydreams were shattered when 'Tsunade' disappeared with a poof.

"Shadow clone?" She disappointedly muttered to herself. "When?"

A crinkle of laughter had her whirling around, and she saw Tsunade pristine, without a single speck of dirt, and most importantly, _dry_, step out from behind a tree. As she neared her apprentice, Tsunade smiled. Noticing her pupil's crestfallen face, she reached out and gave Sakura a pat on the back.

"Good effort today, Sakura. That last move unexpected; if I were someone else, I wouldn't have been able to come out unscathed. Your water manipulation is coming along nicely."

Giving her apprentice a proud look, she continued, "Take the rest of the day off, don't do anymore more work. I have a meeting in approximately 2 minutes, and I need to leave. Otherwise, Shizune will have a blast." She shot Sakura a disgusted look at the thought of meeting. Sakura laughed. She knew all too well what Tsunade's first apprentice was like, and that her teacher hated meetings and work in general.

"I understand. See you, Tsunade-shishou!"

* * *

><p>Touching the letter in her weapons holster and allowing a secret smile, Sakura started to calmly stroll around Konoha. With nothing better to do, she had found that walking around aimlessly was actually an interesting and good way to waste time.<p>

Though she tried not to, her thoughts ultimately strayed towards Itachi.

Sakura was pretty sure that Itachi had some inkling as to who she was. She would be severely disappointed if the fabled 'Uchiha genius' or one of Konoha's 'most dangerous criminals' could not even figure that out. However, it didn't matter that much. Even if he knew, he definitely hadn't shown any hostile actions.

As she walked, a non-descript old store caught her eye. Having nothing to do and all the time in the world, Sakura decided to take a look.

Pushing open the door, the first thing Sakura noticed was the rolls upon rolls of different weapons on display. The interior of the shop was much bigger than what it looked like on the outside.

"Hello young miss!" A voiced called out.

Sakura spun around and saw an old man, hobbling out from the back of the store.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Um, no," Sakura stumbled out, caught off guard. How had he come out without her noticing? "I'm just looking."

The old man smiled. Sakura shivered a little. While he seemed harmless and all, she couldn't help but get the feeling that there was more to the man than what she saw.

"Well, you may call me 'Fuyoshi', and my instincts are telling me that you want a specialized weapon.

Sakura gave a startled look. Actually, she _had_ been thinking of getting a customized weapon, especially after receiving the letter from Itachi that talked about what he thought of weapons. Still, the way the old man just seemed to know was a little creepy, and she wasn't sure if she should stay there any longer.

"Um, thank you, Fuyoshi-san, but I think I will just go now." She had started inching towards the door, but before she got any further, the store owner disappeared from where he was standing, and reappeared right in front of her.

"Nonsense!" He exclaimed with a huge smile. "Not many enter my store, and I am feeling rather bored right now. I'd be happy to help you! Let's look at some weapons; I already have a few in mind that might suit you."

As Sakura allowed herself to be ushered away by the strange man, she couldn't help but feel she had just done something dangerous that would change her life.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the weapons shop a little while later, Sakura had a very disoriented feeling. Though she was still cautious of the strange owner, she was very happy to have picked out a weapon that seemed to suit her. The moment she had touched it, she felt connected to it somehow. It had needed a few adjustments to fit her perfectly, but Fuyoshi-san had assured her that it would be done within a week.<p>

Wandering the streets, Sakura thought about visiting her friends. However, everyone seemed to have picked up on the importance of training lately, were all busy. Ino had begun training in the IT department with her father, and Shikamaru and Choji were training with their clans as well. Team 8 was on a mission somewhere in Kiri, and it just seemed like everyone was busy.

Sakura quickly ceased her chain of thoughts before she could get to Naruto and Sasuke.

"**Sakura, watch out!"** Inner screamed.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, and then stopped right before she walked into an ANBU that had appeared in front of her.

"Ah, sorry ANBU-san. I didn't see you." She admitted sheepishly.

"It's fine, Haruno-san. The hokage requires your presence right now." Giving a slight nod, the masked ninja vanished.

"What could Shishou want with me now? Didn't she just give me the day off?" Sakura wondered as she stared at the spot where the ANBU had just been. Oh well, no use thinking about it. Better get going.

**_XxXxXxXx_**

Sakura knocked lightly on the heavy wooden door, and entered the Hokage's office. She noticed that there were 3 other people there, other than Tsunade and Shizune. They were team Gai – Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Giving them slight nods since she didn't know them too well, Sakura turned her attention towards her teacher.

"Shishou?"

Tsunade gave her an apologetic smile. "Ah, Sakura, I'm sorry for cutting you day off short, but an urgent matter has come up. You are needed on a mission."

Then, she addressed everyone in the room.

"This will be an A-rank mission. The members will be Team Gai, and Sakura will go along as another member as well as the medic. Do you all accept?"

A chorus of affirmatives answered the questions.

Tsunade nodded, looking satisfied. She glanced at Shizune, who responded with a nod and made some hand signs. Within moments, a powerful privacy jutsu was enabled around the room.

Tsunade continued, "The mission is to deliver a scroll with sensitive information to Wakamaru Hiyami. There are other ninjas after this information, thus the rank "A." Protect the information, and make sure it gets to its target!"

The four ninjas nodded.

Tsunade added, "Oh, one more thing. Neji, you are the team leader for this mission. Dismissed!"

* * *

><p>Sakura hummed softly to herself as she packed for the mission. She was guessing it would take at least a few days, if not more. Checking her weapons, she found the letter she had stuffed in her pouch earlier that morning. Taking it out, she smoothed the crinkles and stared at the short message. Snorting at Itachi's words, she moved swiftly towards her desk and sat down. Grapping a pen, she began to write a response.<p>

_Fine, Meanie. Be that way! :P_

_I went to a weapons shop today, and met a strange old man. He knows a lot of things, and I'm kind of cautious about him, but he seemed nice enough. He helped me pick out a weapon. (I decided to start training with a specific weapon, like you suggested in one of your other letters.)_

_I am going on my first A-rank mission this week! I'm very excited. It's with a team though, so I won't be able to reply – call me paranoid, but I'm not comfortable writing unless I know for sure no one will see me._

_Write to you in a week or so, bye._

* * *

><p>Neji glanced around at the members of his team. Tenten and Lee, he could trust and he definitely knew their abilities and capability. Sakura, he shook his head. He couldn't see why she was even considered for the A rank mission. Their team had fared fine without a medic before, and this mission wasn't even that dangerous.<p>

With one last glance at Sakura, he cleared his thoughts and called the team to attention.

"All right, here are the mission details."

He held up a scroll. "In this scroll contains the information that we are to pass on to our target. We must protect it with our lives. I will carry it. There is a very high possibility that enemy ninjas will try to obtain this. Stay on guard, understood?"

Grim nods met his question.

Neji continued in his usual authoritative tone, "We will travel in a diamond formation, with Lee in the front, Tenten and Sakura-san in the middle, and I in the rear. Our goal is to reach the town of Washiba by tomorrow. Any questions?"

No one said anything. The directions had been clear enough.

"Good. Now, let's move out!"

Four blurs dashed into the trees and the area before Konoha's main gates stood empty once again.

* * *

><p>Itachi skimmed the letter and contemplated his next move. Slowly, a smirk curled into existence.<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura sighed. The mission was not going well. Well, there was nothing wrong with the mission, but interacting with her teammates was not going well. Specifically, interacting with Neji.<p>

Tenten had been friendly enough, and Lee was, of course, his usual exultant, willing-to-please self, but Neji had been aloof. All her attempts at conversation were coldly rebuffed, and she was honestly starting to wonder what his problem was.

She found her answer that night, when it was time to break for camp. She had tried to be cheerful and helpful, and offered to help Neji unpack, but the frigid glare she received made her snap.

"All right," Sakura, shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "What the hell is your problem!?"

She threw her own death glare at Neji. "All day, I've tried to be friendly, but you've behaved like an ass! What have I ever done to deserve this?"

She stared angrily at him. By that time, Neji had stood up from the log he was sitting on.

"You want to know what my problem is?" He met her glare head on with an ever fiercer one.

"You are weak. Unlike the rest of us who have trained hard day after day ever since we made genin, you were pathetic. Spending time fawning over Sasuke and not training at all, you are a disgrace to the shinobi. To me, you are still that weakling. Until you prove yourself, you are nothing more than a simple medic who can heal, but cannot defend herself, cannot do what the most basic ninja can do."

There was an awkward silence in the camp area, and Neji walked away into the dark woods.

Sakura stared at the ground, hands trembling. Tenten and Lee seemed to not know what to say. Then, Lee regained his bearings and quickly rushed up to Sakura, grabbing her hand and kneeling down, and exclaimed, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that, Sakura-chan! Neji is being a jerk. I'll cheer you up! If I don't, I will do-"

Sakura interrupted him. "It's fine Lee. What he said about me was true, but not anymore. I will show him during this mission that I've changed."

Not knowing what else to say, and desperately wanting some alone time, Sakura quickly continued, "I'm going to the river to wash up. I'll be back in a few minute."

She left without another word.

* * *

><p>Neji leaned against a tree not far from the clearing. He had a perfect view of everything, and had heard what Sakura declared. <em>Fine,<em> he thought, _show me what you're made of then, little kunoichi._

The crunching of leaves alerted him to the fact he had company, and Tenten settle with her back against the same tree not long afterwards.

"You know, that was rather mean of you." She started conversationally.

"Hn." He replied.

"I usually agree with your judgments, but I think this time you may be wrong." Tenten moved so she was standing in front of Neji. "She _is_ Tsunade-sama's apprentice, and you haven't really seen her since the chuunin exams."

Neji stared at her with an unreadable expression.

Tenten sighed and leaned in to give him a quick hug. "Just give her a change, okay? I think she'll surprise us."

Then, she turned and walked away to join Lee by the campfire.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat on a large rock by the river, dangling her legs in the cool water. Everything sucked. What right did Neji have to judge her on her past self? Okay, she hadn't been a very good ninja, she'll admit, but how did he know how she was like now? After she had gotten her resolve?<p>

She would just have to show him how much she's improved, she decided. She didn't know why she was so set on raising Neji's opinion of her, but she guessed it was because she wanted acknowledgement that she actually _had_ changed from her former pathetic self. And getting it from the Hyuuga prodigy would guarantee that it was genuine.

She let out a huff and stared at the dark, starry night. A cool evening breeze swept by, and everything seemed at peace. Other than the sound of the rushing river, there was nothing else. Sakura closed her eyes and blissfully enjoyed the moment's reprieve, letting the argument drift away.

Then, her eyes snapped open and her muscles tense, ready to move if necessary. A sound of flapping wings was getting closer.

"Caw."

She twisted her head around so fast, it was a wonder she didn't injure herself. A raven sat casually on the rock behind her, staring at her with what seemed to be amusement in its eyes.

Sakura frowned. The raven seemed familiar, somehow. It was like she had seen it a few times before, but where?

The raven seemed to decide that it had stayed still for too long. It swooped up and flew away to land on a nearby tree branch, dropping a piece of parchment in her lap.

Sakura's eyes widened. Shaking hands that suddenly turned freezing cold reached out to pick up the paper. No, impossible…

On the parchment, an elegant script spelled out the message, "Have fun Sakura, stay safe."

She recognized the writing as the one belonging to the person that had been conversing via letters with her for quite a while now.

Now she remembered where she had seen the raven - almost every time she had gotten a letter, the raven was always somewhere around the area!

"Holy shit," Sakura whispered after a moment of stunned silence. "I'm so screwed."

* * *

><p><em>to be continued<em>

* * *

><p>written: 815/2012

Well, how's that. Itachi finally reveals that he knows who Sakura is, and that he has the means of finding her no matter where she is.

Next chapter, the mission part 2.

Yeah, I really like Neji. Everything will be cool in the next chapter :)

Your feedback gives me the inspiration to write. Please leave a comment.

~ DR


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